


Into the Storm

by redhonedge



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Fluff, KBDN, M/M, Mutual Pining, One-Shot, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:55:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23405659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redhonedge/pseuds/redhonedge
Summary: Leon has to go and face off against Eternatus, but not before some parting words with Raihan. (one shot / raileon endgame)
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Kibana | Raihan
Comments: 5
Kudos: 137





	Into the Storm

“You can’t go up there alone, you need me—“

“Raihan, it’ll be fine. You have to trust me.”

Leon couldn’t recall the last stormy day he had seen in Hammerlocke. 

Maybe it was his curse (or, perhaps, blessing) of viewing everything through rose-tinted glasses, but all of his visits to the great, historical city seemed to be on beautiful clear days, where he could feel the warm sunlight kissing his skin and the breeze gently ruffling his hair. 

It was likely all just good timing and sheer, dumb luck.

Dumb luck that had abandoned him now as he looked beyond the concerned set of blue eyes boring down into him and to the swirling storm clouds behind, crackling lightning illuminating the churning skies an unnatural red hue.

It strikingly reminded him of the color of freshly spilled blood. 

A chill swept down through his spine, like icy fingers tapping against each vertebrae. 

Sooner ready to die than allowed the trepidation he felt to show, in defiance of his stomach twisting into angry, anxious knots Leon beamed with the same brilliance of the sun he so sorely missed. 

He was their champion, their shining light, their resilient protector. 

Rain or shine, catastrophe or peace, it was his duty to maintain order in their beloved region, and to bring back the sun. 

“You need to get everyone out of the city, get them somewhere safe and far from here. They’ll listen to you, and you know—“

“So I can leave you to die facing that _thing?!_ Leon, I can’t, just let the police do it, I— if you—“

A hand settling on Raihan’s shoulder seemed enough to calm him, a concoction of anger, concern, and justifiable fear flashing in a symphony of reluctant emotion across his face as he quieted down. Leon tried not to dwell long upon it, tried to make it seem like he was looking back to where Eternatus awaited him, rather than avoiding the heartbreak in Raihan’s expression as he truly was. 

He could not allow it to be burned into his memory. 

He could not allow it to eat at him. 

He could not allow it to change his mind. 

The champion could not place his own cowardly wants and needs before that of his people who needed his protection.

“I told you already, I’m going to be fine.”

Perhaps he should have been watching his best friend closer, for he may have avoided the obvious manner he flinched when Raihan’s warm hand covered his own, heart fluttering like an anxious Pidgey against his ribs. 

Gilded eyes darted back, and he felt his resolve cracking at the edges. 

When was the last time he had seen Raihan with a look so soft, with eyes somehow so vibrant in the dim, stormy lighting?

A great boom of thunder rocked Leon to his core, red lightning splitting the sky. 

The illumination it brought framed so _perfectly_ the exhaustion in Raihan’s face, how his eyes subtly searched his own expression for the answer he preferred, the way his teeth gently worried at his bottom lip as he thought. 

Part of Leon felt rooted to the spot, if only so he could remain Raihan’s only focus. 

“Promise me.”

Leon blinked once, twice, surprise flickering easily across his expression as he was stirred from his reverie.

“Promise—?”

“Promise me you’ll come back out of this in one piece.”

The hand over Leon’s finally curled about his tightly, giving a squeeze that he felt in his heart. 

_ Why did this almost feel like goodbye? _

“I promise.”

The edges of his smile softened, the persona of an unbeatable champion fading for simply Leon.

Raihan’s hand was squeezed back, but he was running out of time. The storm only grew worse, the wind sharp and relentless as it whipped against them, the distant roar of the rising gales no longer sounding like merely the weather, and this knowledge left more than merely Butterfrees fluttering anxiously about the pit of his gut.

Leon withdrew his hand, reluctant as he was to part from the warmth of it cradling his, to quickly fumble with his pokeballs. 

He felt Raihan’s eye track down in confusion as the unexpanded devices were unclipped, Leon mentally noting each one until finally, they were held out. 

“What are you—“

“Take them. I’m—I—well—“

Inappropriate of a time as it was, Leon gave a short, awkward laugh, free hand playing with the hair at the back of his head, a lock twirled between index and middle.

“Please. Just take care of them. I need to go into this with just my core members, and I... I trust you’ll protect them, “ Leon confessed, eyes flickering down in a betrayal of his thinly veiled anxiety.

Could he, truly, guilt-free, bring the entirety of his team to this potential war zone, knowing the inexperience of some of them?

Inteleon was only just freshly evolved, Cinderace was far too reckless, and—

“I will. But you’re coming back for them.”

His hand was left empty, and the weight lifted left him remarkably hollow despite the relief it surely should have brought watching the array of pokeballs vanish within the protective curl of Raihan’s fingers. 

Oh, how he hoped beyond hoped Raihan was right. 

He hoped that he would emerge victorious, unscathed, that this waking nightmare would fade into nothing more than a story he can tell to his grandkids with the typical theatrical gusto the man who provided a champion time was renowned for. 

That perhaps when this was over, he would finally take the time to settle things unsaid, to find courage where it had been previously absent so these fluttering Butterfrees in the pit of his stomach could finally be set free. 

Leon leveled Raihan with a smile he hoped reassuring, without the theatrics and melodrama. 

“I am. And I need to go. I don’t know how much more time we got, but I’ll go try to buy you more,” Leon began, beginning to back away, already reaching for Charizard’s well-worn pokeball so he had just one more reason to not look back at Raihan. There was no turning back, not when the region and the people he loved were all on the line. “Get everyone to safety, and stay with them! Don’t you dare come back for me.”

“Leon—“

In a brilliant flash and with a roar that could easily challenge the thunder booming from the heavens, Leon was swept up onto Charizard’s back, fingers gripping into the rough skin of his shoulders as they launched into the air with a mighty flap of his great wings.

Not catching himself in time, impulsively Leon leaned back for what could be his final glimpse of Raihan, unable to resist. 

Able to see Raihan’s mouth moving, as distant as he was becoming, over the heavy wing beats carrying them high into the sky, Leon heard not a word, though felt it was natural to assume it was additional encouragement.

A hand lifted, striking his signature pose.

He saw Raihan wave, and somehow, it was the necessary balm to aid his fraying nerves. 

“C’mon, Char,” Leon whispered, turning back around to tuck down tight to him. 

“We can’t let them down.”

—-

Grueling, agonizing, the battle between the eldritch monster that threatened the world he loved and Leon, felt to be Galar’s last line of defense, had been long, and he felt himself on the cusp of being left utterly spent. It had been years since he had been left so worn in battle, and he could see it in his teammates as well as they fought to keep fighting, to dig in their heels and fight for every last inch.

Grateful beyond grateful for it, but frightened it would not be enough, he watched his team whittle down to only Charizard as Eternatus knocked them aside the same as it would mere toys.

His longest partner, his first true friend. 

Beaten, worn, blood streaking down from weeping wounds, in spite of the odds against them both did Charizard still stand tall—and perhaps at a moment inappropriate for it, Leon made a mental note to make him his favorite curry when this was all over. 

He deserved that and so much more for all they had been through, and Leon prayed he could bring it all to a close as an empty pokeball was unclipped.

“Alright, Charizard, this it!”

Breath held, daring not to look away from the weakened monstrosity known as Eternatus before them, Leon hurled the ball in hand with the remaining strength he had. 

Hope flickered like a dying ember in a dark room when the pokeball shook once, then twice. 

A hope that was extinguished with a mere exhale when the ball sat frigid in place, an indicator any seasoned trainer could recognize as impending failure. 

Yet, his failure, as he looked back in panic to Hop and Gloria arriving at a moment so painfully wrong, mouthing words even he couldn’t hear over the ringing in his ears as his arm flung out, could cost him everything. 

Charizard swept by the instant he heard the pokeball crack beneath the pressure of trying to contain a beast that refused to be chained, flinging an arm up to try and protect his face as the world went black. 

—-

_ He’s stable, but he’s going to be on bed rest for some time. He’s lucky he made it out in one piece. It’s good you got him here in time. _

Voices. 

Unfamiliar, strange. 

They were not the distressed cries of Hop and Gloria screaming out to him, nor did they actually sound terribly distressed at all. 

Stable?

Bed rest?

His head felt heavy, his thoughts and mind as foggy as the Slumbering Weald, and it felt easier to acknowledge it as merely a dream that only felt like reality and to allow himself to drift back off into the ink black that beckoned him so. 

Warm and comfortable, it was an easy transition—or, so it would have been, had he not been kept tethered to this oddity of a dream by what felt like a hand curling about his left. 

Now _this_ felt familiar in a way that was justifiably odd, because when had a hand everbeen as familiar as a voice, or a sound, or even a smell?

Yet, while in the moment he couldn’t metaphorically put his finger on it, Leon knew this hand, the way it held his own, the feel of its skin against his, the weight of it against his palm. 

Eyelids feeling far too heavy to lift, drawn as he was from the temptation of returning to his slumber, he contented with lingering like that, wondering but not discovering.

It was a quiet meant to be basked in for only a few moments, until a voice split through.

“You scared me, Leon.”

_I did?_ Leon thought, the words spoken to him striking as someone he remembered, but the fog unrelenting in forbidding him to know.

“Running off headlong into danger, putting everyone else before you... What kinda moron are you? And what kinda moron am _I_ for sticking with you?”

_ Probably the same kind as me. _

Had he been truly awake, Leon may have matched his mental response with his signature bubbly laugh, or perhaps the sunshine-invoking smile that so easily won the hearts of Galar. 

Perhaps unfortunately for the poor soul pouring his heart out to him, he was still in the process of stirring from whatever it was that left him feeling so weary, that left weights on his limbs and on his eyes. 

My, how much time had it taken them to do that, putting a weight on each and every individual lash?

“But... I’m glad I came back. You’re an idiot to think I’d stay behind on my ass twiddling my thumbs while you go off to save the world. Y’know I didn’t end up where I am just by lookin’ pretty, right?”

_ Came... back... Is that you—? _

“After all your airheaded stunts, I think this is the worst one. I’ve never seen you in such bad shape, Lee, and you were so ready.... so ready to _leave me behind_.”

The voice hitched, and Leon pressed against the haze, willing life to spring back into his limbs that had seemingly forgotten to function, for this was not a person he could allow to steep alone in a heartbreak that felt tangible.

His fingers remembered themselves first, and he knew he had startled whoever was with him when they drew in as tight as he could manage to squeeze the hand in his and felt it flinch in his grip.

“‘m not dead, right?”

Eyes peeling open to lock into a pained squint, no part of Leon could prepare him for how _horribly_ bright the fluorescents were, especially paired with the sterile white of the walls surrounding. 

It was not these things, however, that his gaze sought as he blinked away the blurriness, searching and searching and searching until—- _there_.

“Is the great Raihan crying?”

Voice a faint rasp, in spite of it all did every inch of his teasing tone push through as he smiled, free hand finding strength to reach over and wipe away a stray tear.

“Lee—“

There was an emotion words could not properly convey in that single, choked utterance of his childhood nickname, and barely awake or not, it was still enough to have Leon’s heart leaping into his throat. 

Raihan cupped the hand wiping away his tears against his cheek before he could settle it back upon the bed, and Leon could feel how warm his flushed skin was as Raihan leaned into his palm. 

His stomach twisted into knots that were surprisingly pleasant, and Leon found himself grateful that he had decided against dozing back off.

“Sorry for makin’ you worry,” Leon murmured, slowly beginning to note the beeping machines around them, the thin sheet atop him, and—oh, it was all beginning to make far more sense precisely where he was. 

Huh, he supposed he made sense, granted he had just battled it out against an ancient alien monster god or something like that.

“‘Worry’ doesn’t even begin to cover it,” Raihan snorted, eyes fluttering shut with a sigh.

“I’m... I’m glad you’re awake. I’m glad you’re okay. I really thought I’d have to...”

“It’s in the past. Don’t start thinking like that.”

For a man who had nearly died, even Leon was a touch surprised by the strength his voice managed to carry after freshly awakening from an unexpected trip to the hospital, though he was certain to follow it through with yet another squeeze to Raihan’s hand in his.

He felt it returned, and smiled.

“Hey... did they say how long I’m stuck here?”

The initial answer to his question was an exaggerated eye roll, Raihan releasing the hand against his face to scrutinize Leon with a stare the _essence_ of judgmental.

“You almost died, and you’re asking me when they’re going to let you out of here?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re unbelievable.”

Unbelievable or not, that didn’t seem to stop Raihan from snorting, shaking his head as he leaned back in the chair he was settled in, though maintaining a stubborn hold on Leon’s hand.

“A few days. The doctor says you’re stable, but she wants you on bed rest. So no traipsing about doing _champion_ _time_ things—and they’re postponing the final match.”

“What?! They can’t—“

Attempting to sit up in time with his _devastated_ cry, Leon gasped at the bolts of white-hot pain that pierced through flesh and bone at the mere effort, giving a high-pitched whine as he thudded back down onto his pillows to groan. 

Raihan certainly didn’t seem to be left amused, brow furrowed as he watched Leon wrap an arm loosely about his torso.

“Yeah, how about you _don’t_ do that? And, uh, _yeah_ , they can. Everybody needs to bounce back from nearly dying, and their _champion_...” A hand reached over to gently prod Leon’s side before it could be swatted away. “Needs to rest up after almost getting himself killed. It’ll be fine, Lee. People can handle a delayed match.”

Cheeks gently puffing, for he _highly_ disagreed, it felt better left at that versus making an effort to argue over something that was, truly, trivial at the end of the day. 

Eyes trailing elsewhere, taking what felt to be a necessary moment to sulk over what had been lost, Leon allowed silence to briefly lapse until a detail flashed through his mind of the moments prior to his grand battle, of when he and Raihan had just freshly parted sides.

When Leon looked back to him, his eyes were now freshly inquisitive, feeling a bit more awake than before.

“Raihan, when I was on Charizard, you said something, but I didn’t hear it. What did you say?”

Faster than a galloping Rapidash, Leon watched Raihan’s face darken in a shade of red he couldn’t remember the last time he had ever seen on him, blue eyes darting away from him and then back again, as if hopeful that Leon’s curiosity had passed in the few seconds he hadn’t been looking. 

When Leon continued to stare him down, Raihan conceded with a sigh, expression turning from relaxed to sheepish.

“I... well I thought you were probably going off to die, which let me say I was _pretty much_ right about had I not shown up, and I didn’t want to leave things on the table, and so I— when you were flying off, I just... “ He didn’t seem capable of even looking in Leon’s direction, eyeing the tiled floor as if it were the most fascinating thing he had seen all week as he scratched at the back of his head. “I said I love you.”

A beat. Then two. Then three.

_ I said I love you. _

The words echoed on constant loop in Leon’s head, yet, they didn’t seem to be sinking in as they ought to, Leon staring blankly ahead as Raihan gazed expectantly, nervously, back to him. 

Another second, then thirty, and then a minute, and Raihan was already speaking again to fill the awkward silence.

“You—honestly, Leon, you don’t gotta return my feelings, or, hell, even acknowledge that I did that. I’d never want to fuck up our friendship, and—“

“Why would that do anything to our friendship?”

Stiffening up as his tangent was interrupted, it was Raihan’s turn to stare blankly at him. 

Even with his abrupt outburst, neither of them pulled their hands away, still locked in a comfortable handhold. 

It was this that Leon looked down to in order to steady himself as he felt a blush of his own creeping up in a terrible heat from his neck to his cheeks, feeling unbearably fever-hot despite the paper-thin hospital gown he had donned.

“I—to be fair, I was gonna confess if we survived all this. Guess you beat me to the punch, huh?”

“You were—what?”

Gold met blue, and they sat there for a silent beat. 

Perhaps by habit, or by nerves, Leon grinned, unable to fight a giggle as he spoke again.

“Great minds think alike, huh?”

“... You’re an idiot, you know that Leon?”

As scathing as such an insult should’ve been, with how tenderly it was spoken, treated as carefully as fragile glass, it still somehow left Leon as breathless as if he had been called beautiful. Maybe it was the soft smile paired with it, or the manner in which Raihan looked at him as if the world begun and ended with him, which was surely a compliment in and of itself as even without a mirror or camera to peer into, Leon knew he appeared the definition of a mess.

“Kiss me,” Leon said, spoken as the plain demand that it was, for it was not a request Raihan had an option to back out of. 

His hand tugged against Raihan’s, beckoning. 

He watched as surprise flickered across his expression before it softened back into the look he wished he could burn into the backs of his eyelids to see forever with every blink, and the distance between the hospital bed and the chair Raihan had pulled up rapidly closed.

“Only because I can’t say no,” murmured Raihan, and Leon’s eyes fluttered shut the millisecond before he felt their lips touch.

It was only for but a few seconds, perfectly chaste, yet it felt like time stood still for a heavenly moment to let him bask in it. 

Alas, not all things beautiful in life lasted forever, and as much as he yearned to grab onto Raihan’s hoodie and yank him back in for another kiss (and another, and another, and another—) Leon already had something on the brain he wished to say.

“So,” he began, smile coy. “If I bring the bed out to the pitch, and I’m still in it, that means—“

“Oh my god Leon, no, you aren’t allowed to battle just because you’re still in bed.”

**Author's Note:**

> if you made it to the end, hello! i really just wanted a self-indulgent fic that’s probably been done a thousand times over but did it anyways because, why not! i’m trying to get back into the fic writing swing so what’s better than some good ole ship stuff? i’m debating putting pen to paper for a couple more fics for these two, so i’d appreciate any feedback on how y’all felt about this!


End file.
